Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
The Lok Sabha passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill seeks to unify the three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single and integrated entity, for better planning and optimal utilisation of resources.
Through the bill, the Centre proposed to appoint a ‘Special officer’ who will discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors till the meeting of the new corporation is held. The bill is expected to give more autonomy to the unified corporation.

Notes:
Odisha celebrates the 86th foundation day of the state on April 1, known as ‘Utkal Divas’. It is on the same day that the state became independent in the year 1936.
Utkal Divas, also known as Odisha Day and Utkala Dibasa, commemorates the struggle which gained a separate identity for the state.

Notes:
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently released the ‘State of World Population: Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy’ Report.
As per the report, nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended. Globally, an estimated 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and modern methods of contraception.

Notes:
The government has decided to maintain the status quo on interest rates of small savings instruments for the April-June quarter.
The interest rate of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is 7.6 per cent while the Public Provident Fund (PPF) fetches 7.1 per cent. Interest rates on small saving schemes are reset on a quarterly basis, tracking the movement in benchmark government bonds.

Notes:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that his government has decided to start doorstep delivery of ration in the state.
While it is an optional scheme, the government officials will call Punjab’s residents and ask them for their preferred time slot. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tried to implement the same scheme in Delhi.

Notes:
India has contributed USD 500,000 to the UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality and women empowerment for their core budget.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations T.S.Tirumurti announced that India reaffirmed its partnership of women-led development and gender parity. UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous thanked India for its contribution.

Notes:
The National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) has indigenously developed six new and rare Reference Materials (RMs).
It is the purest form of chemical required for anti-doping analysis in all WADA-accredited Laboratories across the world. They have been developed by NDTL in association with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)-Guwahati and the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu.

Notes:
The Union Culture ministry launched a new portal named Temple 360, through which devotees can perform online rituals of prominent pilgrimage sites.
Live camera feeds across temples of India will be made available on the website. At present, live streaming of rituals from four temples: Somnath (Gujarat), Kashi Vishwanath (UP), Trimbakeshwar and Ghrishneshwar (both in Maharashtra) can be viewed on the portal.

Notes:
As per the official data, India’s trade deficit rose 87.5 per cent to USD 192.41 billion in 2021-22 as against USD 102.63 billion in the previous year.
While total exports during last fiscal year increased to a record high of USD 417.81 billion, imports too rose to USD 610.22 billion, causing a trade gap of USD 192.41 billion.  For the first time, India’s monthly merchandise exports exceeded USD 40 billion, reaching USD 40.38 billion in March 2022.

Notes:
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched “Prakriti”, mascot that spreads awareness about small changes in life that can curb plastic pollution.
It also highlights various green initiatives taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country.